KERS & Adjustable Wings a failure, says Fred

New measures this year including Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems and adjustable front wings have been Formula One flops, according to Fernando Alonso.

In an interview with Britain's Independent, the Renault driver was asked about two changes that were designed to spice up the show: 'boost button' KERS systems, and the driver-adjustable flaps.


Alonso and his team's negative attitude about KERS is well known, but when asked about the cockpit-mounted button that can adjust the angle of a front wing element twice per lap, the Spaniard answered: "I never touch it!

"So far, nine races, I never use it. It's not useful at all. KERS, the aerodynamics, they are two new regulations that didn't work this year.”

 

KERS made a big difference at the start in Hungary for both Hamilton and Raikonen. Perhaps Alonso is a bit sour that Renault did not develop their KERS system? Now he has to qualify low on fuel in order to get up front....

 

1st year.
Renault didnt figure it out.
So its trash ?

But if he had been in a Mclaren it would be too cool. Right ?

translation; "didnt work for ME."

 

He's right, they are both failures. KERS is garbage and adjustable wings are useless. The KERS adds nothing to the show at all other than the race starts and as far as being eco friendly? Total BS. There's a good reason why none of the other teams other than McLaren want to use it.

 

+1

Besides those rocket starts, KERS is actually useless, IMO.

 

So much for F1 being the pinnacle of engineering.
I guess its just entertainment after all.

 

I'm sure the effect of the diffuser negated any KERS advantages, not to sure about the adjustable wings, I think some drivers do use it, IMO it is now showing it's use as the teams that have stuck with it now have the whole package coming together.

But to sum it up FA is right Mosley and his cretin like ideas can go where he is heading ..to a rest home with a rocking chair.

The fact is cost cutting and Mosley don't add up.

 

with the current implementation, it seems useless. that doesn't mean the idea itself is a bad one. if there were more than 6s per lap it could be used, if it meant carrying less fuel, if it could somehow generate heat to warm the tires on yellow laps, etc. ok not serious on that last one but just saying there are probably ways to make it into a good system.

 

then how would he know it's useless?!

 

got'em

 

If you've ever watched Alonso doing a full-out qualifying lap, you'd know how often he is adjusting settings on his steering wheel. Nearly every turn last season he was changing the settings of the differential to work better for each corner. The man also took a junk Renault chassis and turned it into a car that scored the MOST points the last half of the season. If he doesn't use it, then something tells me he has a reason not to. If it was worth anything he would use it to his benefit like he's always done.

 

I'm not sold on KERS. Sure it works in some places, but against you in others. Still not convinced it nets out to an advantage overall.

 

I think Alonso would know better than any of us. If he says it's useless then it is.

 

The maximum amount of extra power KERS is limited by the FIA rules so that it can be used for about 6 s per lap. Any more power you technically can get out of KERS is not allowed and therefore a waste of engineering effort. Nobody (except Ross Brawn) could have foreseen at the end of 2008 that the double diffuser layout would yield much more gain per lap.

IMHO it would be far better to allow ANY amout of extra hp you can het out of the system. In that case F1 would be the pinnacle of technical development again plus it would be advantageous again to persue the KERS route for faster lap times.

 

I think the concept of KERS has been tainted by the way FIA tried to *mandate* "innovation", rather than letting the teams innovate on their own.

The "pinnacle of motorsports" has been reduced to "innovation" on interpretation of diffuser rules.

KERS is massively a "failure" for the drive to "reduce costs".

KERS is also a "failure" with regard to the attempts to "spice up the show". The primary use of KERS after the first corner has been to prevent passing on-track. After all that mucking with aero and tires in order to increase on-track passes.

All the passing is still on the grid and in the pits.

Dismiss Indycar if you will, but even on that horrendous Edmonton airport circuit (concrete, totally flat, narrow, bumpy), there were more on-track passes in that one race than in half a season of F1.

 

Yes. Fred is now probably the best person in the field who can develop a car, and if he thinks it's a waste of time, then it's a waste of time.

 

I don't think anyone is getting my point.

If he hasn't ever touched it, how does he have any idea if it is effective or not? If he had said, "I tried it in a few situations and it was pointless", ok that makes sense. Since there is no testing, if he has as he says never touched it, he has no idea if it's useful or not.

Also, given the design of the Renault chassis maybe it isn't useful (again, no idea how he would know this) but on other cars maybe it's a great thing.

 

I get your point. Very clearly in fact. It doesn't change the fact that I'm going to take the word of a two-time world champion and well-known chassis developer over a forum poster I'm afraid.

 

Naturally he has used it at some point, otherwise he wouldn't know if it worked or not. To think he hasn't and never is simply foolish.